Rope structure



Patented dan. ib, i923.

Ni T

@FFHCE HERBERT VERNET WHITLOCK, OF ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO WHIT- LOCK CORDAGE COMPANY, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

ROPE STRUCTURE.

Application led May 25,

T o all whom. t may concern Be it known that I, HERBERT V. VVHIT- LOCK, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Elizabeth, in the county of Union and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and Improved Rope Structure, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact' description.

The vpresent invention relates to new and useful improvements in cordage and it pertains more particularly to anew and improved strand structure for ropes.

lt is one of the objects of the invention to construct a rope which will be superior in performance than is rope constructed in -the ordinary manner.

Heretofore in the manufacture of rope it has been the common practice to form the strands of which the rope is a composite yarns which in turn are spun or twisted from the prepared fibre in the form of a continuous ribbon known as a sliver.

llt has beenfound from actual measurement that Athe yarns comprising a strand -e are of unequal length, decreasing in length from the outside or cover yarns to the center or core yarns. rlhe shortest yarns will rupture first thus reducing the efiiciency of the rope by being unable to operate in unison.

lt has been found by experiment that a rope made of strands comprised of fibre laid parallel to each other and in a straight line has much greater strength than a rope made in theusual manner, due primarily to the fact that the rope takes the stress as a unit,

ln order to give the rope greater wearing qualities this strand structure has been supplemented with a covering of yarns made in the usual way. The strand structure then stands as a core of unspun libre protected by a cover of regulation yarns.

If in larger ropes a multiplicity of the above structures is used, it is understood to be within the spirit of this invention.

With the above and other objects in view, reference is had to the accompanying,T drawings, in which Figure l is a View in elevation of a rope structure, one of the strands of which 1922. Serial No. 563,598.

is frayed to show the interior structure thereof, and l Fig. 2 vis an end view of a length of rope constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the reference character 5 designates a rope structure, and said rope structure comprises a plurality of strands 6 laid together in the ordinary manner employed in the manufacture of rope. Each of the strands comprises a core 7 formed of straight fibres laid in parallelism to one another, and 'each of these strands is enclosed in a covering 8 consisting of a plurality of covering yarns. A sufficient number of covering yarns 8 is employed to Jorm a complete wrapping of the core 7 to protect` the same and prevent disintegration of said core.

l am aware that twine has been made by taking relatively short lengths of palmetto or other vegetation and laying them in parallelism and subsequently binding them with a wire, which binding wire passes spirally around the structure. Such a structure, however, is not adaptable to use in ropes since such a structure could not travel over -sheaves and pulleys without rapid disintegration of the mass which would result from the fact that the fibres used are of comparatively short length.

From the foregoing it is apparent that the present invention provides a new and improved form of strand structure for ropes, and, furthermore, a rope strand constructed in accordance with the present invention possesses greater strength and durability than is possible in rope manufactured'in the ordinary manner.

What is claimed is:

A rope structure comprising a plurality of strands laid together in twisted relation to form the finished rope, each of said strands comprising a core of fibers laid parallel to one another in substantially untwisted relation and a covering of spun yarns, said yarns being spirally laid about the core and in contact with one another throughout their length.

HERBERT VERNET WHITLOCK. 

